Blessings for Food

Food is a source of sustenance and pleasure. It brings us together around the table for holiday feasts and simple weekday meals. Baking challah with an old family recipe reminds us how food connects us to time and tradition. Trying an international dish at a new restaurant or growing our own tomatoes can show us the complex relationship between food and place. All of this is remarkable, providing so many reasons to pause and offer a blessing.

I practiced mindfulness once before. In a group of five, we raised individual wrinkled raisins from table to tongues. Rotating the tiny mass about my mouth, my mind wandered between the dehydrated... more